Entrepreneurial Center opens at SCCC

Newton - Even before the Entrepreneurial Center at Sussex County Community College officially opened on March 22, business people were using the computers and other reference material in the two rooms set aside for their needs. Funded through a $60,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the center is part of the federal rural initiatives program, which serves both agriculture and non-agriculture based business, according to Dr. Bradley M. Gottfried, college president. The center is designed to help start up a small business or to assist businessmen and women in becoming more successful. It consists of eight computers and access to databases, as well as programs for creating a business plan. The grant also funded classes for people to learn how to best use the center. Already, 13 people have learned how to find better ways to create a business plan, manage cash flow, do efficient inventory control and other basic business practices. They can also use the center to look for their own grant money, explained Gottfried. The new center also works with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a group of retired business people that provides counseling to those wishing to start a new business. Assistance comes from the Skylands Small Business Center. Other partners are the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce and the Sussex County Economic Development Partnership. All services are provided free or at a reasonable charge. Prior to the March 22 opening of the Entrepreneurial Center at Sussex Community, the nearest one was in Morristown, Gottfried said.